My second meme...

Just a truth in life...

progeCAD: An Alternative AutoCAD

progeCAD is a great alternative to AutoDesk's AutoCAD for individuals for private use. The layout is very similar to AutoCAD and the rendering has so far been very close. I have been using it for my designs so far and it seems ok with the dwg extension files. I'm just glad that there is a very good alternative out there for AutoCAD. The monopoly of AutoDesk was not good for the industry as the cost of the software was too high for small companies or even individuals. progeCAD at least provides a low cost alternative with the same features for companies that can afford it. I further applaud progeSOFT for providing the software free for individual use on their home personal computers. Give progeCAD a try and see if it is good for you and your company.

pdfsam for Merging and Splitting pdf Files (free)

pdfsam is one of the most useful tools I have been using recently in joining and splitting pdf files. Adobe Reader doesn't do it, and Adobe Acrobat is just too expensive for me. pdfsam is an opensource free alternative to Adobe Acrobat and works like a charm. The website is www.pdfsam.org. You can also support the developer by donating some money as well. Please do so if you can afford it.

A free CD/DVD burning software?

Want to burn CD's or DVD's without having to pay for expensive software? Well, CDBurnerXP is the perfect alternative for you. CDBurnerXP is a free software that allows you to burn CD's, DVD's, ISO's , audio CD's, bootable CD's, as well as data verification and multi language interfaces. For the average user, it's like Nero without the cost.

CDBurnerXP even burns Blu-Ray and HD-DVD's as well. The software currently works on all the major platforms including Windows XP, Vista and 7. It has yet to come out on Linux, which I'm hoping will be soon.

I am a fan of free software that work just as well (almost always better) than paid software. I don't know why; but free software just do what you want it to. Maybe it's because their makers are altruistic and genuinely want to make a difference in the world by making software that just work. Anyway, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the software is free and does the job. With the web becoming more open, it is only a matter of time before cloud computing (which are mostly free software/affordable) becomes ubiquitous allowing human knowledge to be shared by all. Overpriced junk posing as good software don't stand a chance in the new world unless they embrace the new direction the world is taking and reduce their prices to affordable levels.